The Bengals beat writers sit down with Andrew Billings this week on Beyond the Stripes.
Cincinnati Enquirer

Cincinnati Bengals kicker Randy Bullock (4) shakes hands after a successful field goal in the second quarter of the NFL Week 13 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Denver Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium in downtown Cincinnati on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2018. The Broncos led 7-3 at halftime. (Photo: Sam Greene, The Enquirer)

The Cincinnati Bengals (5-7) and Los Angeles Chargers (9-3) kick off at 4:05 p.m. ET on Sunday. The Chargers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 33-30 on Sunday. The Bengals lost to the Denver Broncos 24-10.

Here's a breakdown of the rest of the basics:

Coaches

Marvin Lewis is in his 16th year leading the Bengals. He’s 130-126-3, including 0-7 in the postseason. Lewis is 5-2 in regular-season games against the Chargers.

Anthony Lynn enters his second season as Chargers coach. His career record is 18-11, and the Chargers just missed the playoffs last year in Lynn's initial campaign due to a tiebreaker.

TV

The game will air on CBS. The broadcasters will be Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Trent Green (analyst), Bruce Arians (analyst) and Melanie Collins (sideline).

Uniforms

The Bengals are scheduled to wear white jerseys and black pants. They have a losing record (28-32) in the combo since a uniform redesign in 2004.

Series history

The Chargers lead 20-15 overall. The Bengals have won four of the past five meetings, including a 24-19 win in Cincinnati in 2015.

Spread

The Chargers are listed as 14.5-point favorites by pregame.com. The over-under points total is 48. That would be the second-largest underdog spread in the Marvin Lewis Era. The most came in 2008 at Dallas (16.5).

Referee

John Hussey will be the referee for Sunday’s game. Hussey has been an official since 2002, a line judge from '02 to '14 and and referee the past four seasons. The Bengals are 2-0 in games Hussey has served as referee, both wins coming against the Cleveland Browns.

Weather

Temperatures on Sunday are expected to reach 69 degrees, with a low of 51. There's a zero percent chance of rain.

Injury report

Bengals: TBA

Chargers: TBA

By the numbers

54.5

The Chargers rank third in the NFL, tops in the AFC, with 54 runs of 10-plus yards. Melvin Gordon, Austin Ekeler and Justin Jackson are each averaging over five yards per carry. Despite missing two games, Gordon ranks second in the AFC with 64 first downs. The Bengals rush defense ranks last in the NFL, allowing 153.3 yards per contest.

89

Philip Rivers keeps getting better. The 15-year veteran quarterback ranks second in the NFL over the past two-plus seasons with 89 touchdown passes. He's totaled the most passing yards since Week 11 of last season (5,670) and has thrown 41 touchdowns to just nine interceptions over that span. Rivers threw two touchdowns Sunday against the Steelers, becoming just the fourth quarterback to record multiple touchdown throws in each of the first 12 games to begin a season.

2

In Week 5, Chargers defensive end Melvin Ingram III became just the second player in NFL history to record a sack, interception and rushing attempt in the same game (joining Jets linebacker Mo Lewis, 2000). Ingram has 40.5 sacks since his rookie season in 2012, including 10.5 last season and 5.5 through this year's first 12 games. Both he and Joey Bosa (26 career sacks) rank on the top 11 of the Chargers all-time sack list.